


SSSSonnets

by Nellie_McEnt



Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: All the pages, All the places, Other, all the characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2019-11-14 01:33:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 100
Words: 11,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18042929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nellie_McEnt/pseuds/Nellie_McEnt
Summary: This is just all the sonnets from SSSS pages; someone said I could post them here, and I figure it's just another place to store them, so why not? Please just ignore this, since it's likely you've encountered them in the comments.





	1. Sonnet For Reynir--Adventure II, page 40

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the presumption that Reynir and Dagny are in love; I realize they're probably not, or at least aren't necessarily.   
> My only defense is that it was written spur-of-the-moment and by request!

Dear Reynir, you've returned from far away,  
And we, your friends, have waited anxiously.  
Now we here want to hear what you've to say,  
Of your adventures when you went to sea.

O Reynir, I have waited most of all,  
For you have always brought joy to my eyes.  
And now I see you, now your name I call,  
And greet you with excited lovestruck cries.

O boy with hair so long and flaming red,  
Your green eyes rival ferns on forest floors.  
Such courage and such spunk! I'd like to wed  
You, and to follow you to foreign shores.

My darling Reynir, tell me all your tales,  
And may I come with you on all your trails.


	2. A Sonnet In The Shade--Adventure II, Page 41

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continued presumptuousness about the characters being in love! I'm sorry! I swear it ends here!

Now I have sent that rude young boy away,  
“Where was I?” I will ask you with a grin.  
So many stories, I’ve so much to say,  
So many great adventures there have been.

We stand here in the verdant summer glade,  
Hands clasped, you listen, eyes intent on me.  
And I remember a far darker shade,  
But still I smile, that is all you’ll see.

I just want to impress, I think, but no  
I also want to hide the pain—forget!  
Some stories that I wanted so to know  
I will not speak to your bright eyes just yet.

Some day, perhaps, in some glade not so green  
I will recall the horrors I have seen.


	3. Sonnet to a Golden Lock--Adventure II, Page 42

O lock of hair that doth bedeck my crown,  
Now severed are you from your noble kin.  
A woolly beast looked over, frowning down  
Upon you, and it took you--what a sin!

O golden strands, as gleaming as the rest,  
Your shining presence sorely I shall miss.  
Of all my locks of hair, thou were the best,  
And kept my self esteem in surest bliss.

That fluffy monster and its fluffy friends  
(Or fiends, perhaps, would be a better word)  
Hath caused my noblest hairs to meet their ends--  
And mark my works, revengeance* shall be heard.

My mournful cries, like birds, scream 'round the hills;  
My heart is heavy with these grievous ills.

*Headcanon as to the state of Emil's vocabulary…


	4. Sonnet for the View and the Rain--Adventure II, Page 43

It was worth it! Gaze upon this view!  
I cast my arms wide open, filled with glee  
That I stand on this mountaintop with you,  
And, breathing deep, look far as I can see.

The em'rald hills, the river, and the town  
All spread below us in a sweeping scene.  
I look up at the sky and then gaze down  
At all the shades that wash Earth blue and green.

I say, dear Lalli, I could weep for bliss,  
But seems the fickle sky shares my delight.  
The rain pours down, with splashing and a hiss,  
To drench us as the clouds waltz with the light.

Was it worth it, braving sheep and slope?  
Either way, we'll simply have to cope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so, I realized days after I wrote this that several lines aren't even in iambic pentameter, but I feel like it's too late to change it, so...call it poetic license and let's just pretend that's the truth.


	5. Sonnet for a Favor--Adventure II, Page 44

I stride with stealthy purpose through the streets  
And, slung over my shoulder, hold a pack.  
I see the silhouette of that strong Dane  
And go to speak with him, though tact I lack.

Just as he turns to enter in the door,  
I clasp him by the shoulder and he turns.  
I'm leaving, I can't stay here anymore;  
But I need help, although to ask it burns.

I try to make small talk, but think I fail;  
He doesn't seem to much appreciate  
My manners. Under glow of streetlights pale,  
I ask for help to quietly escape.

The rain has stopped, but I feel weighted down,  
I need a favor, I say with a frown.


	6. Sonnet for Lalli--Adventure II, Page 45

There's nothing back at home for him, I know,  
So, leaving him behind, I'll set him free.  
It's by myself to Saimaa I must go;  
He'll get my note too late to follow me.

I tell myself I will not mind the nights  
When it is dark and cold, and they're not there.  
My sister and my cousin were like lights  
Which, passing in the night, now disappear.

Don't let him lose that Swede, his only friend,  
For he, at least, must never be alone.  
I will not stand for him to slowly wend  
His way through empty streets filled with the moans

Of hollow winds. And so I turn away  
From this small town, where I could never stay.


	7. Sonnet for the Banishment of It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written in response to Jude Wilkins' suggestion that I could "wither It" with a sonnet. I wish. I really do.

Get thee away, you enigmatic thing.  
Don't haunt their footsteps, hear my cold refrain.  
Where you go, fear and sorrow's all you bring,  
And I won't let them face that, not again.

Get thee away, you shadow-shrouded creep,  
You'll touch not Lalli nor his cousin now.  
I am their vengeance; vengeance never sleeps,  
Step off the stage, and take your final bow.

Get thee away, you creature of the night,  
I tell you one more time, now, disappear.  
There still is hope here, still they have some light  
And you will not extinguish it with fear.

Though I wield only words, watch them take hold,  
Get thee away, grim thing so cruel and old.


	8. Sonnet for Watching Things Burn--Adventure II, Page 46

I hope you like to sit and watch things burn;  
It seems as though our fate's set by decree.  
In truth I pray this offer you won't spurn,  
And you'll return to Sweden soon with me.

And truly, flames are marvels so divine;  
They leap and twirl and make the cold air bright;  
Their orange heat alone outdoes their shine,  
And all the world goes dark beside their light.

And so my world, I think, might have gone dark  
If you had left me to this task alone,  
To watch the flames dance, ever at a work  
Whose danger dims beside that which we've known.

I surely hope you like to watch things burn,  
And your companionship I hope to earn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Martin in the comments for pointing out that I had rhymed "light" with "light" in the second stanza. Oh I'm so observant.   
> -_-


	9. Sonnet for an Apology--Adventure II, Page 47

Hey Onni! Onni, must you really leave?  
You can't--of everything we need to talk.  
There's been so much, there is so much to grieve,  
And I have wronged you, and away you walk,

And I have not apologized-- but what?  
If I've done nothing, why'd you punch my face?  
You don't remember? (There's a line new-cut)  
No, I don't need revenge, but won't you trace

Your memory? You surely must recall  
That in the dream-realm I came to your grove;  
Is this some foolish trick to make me fall  
Out from your footsteps? No, with you I'll rove.

You say I need not say I'm sorry--still,  
It's you I've followed, and I always will.


	10. Sonnet For We Very Well Better Meet Again--Adventure II, Page 48

You're going somewhere, eyes cast deep in shade,  
A shadow that is naught to that which grows  
Within your solemn tone. This choice you've made  
May not be such a wise one; please don't go.

Stay here a while, mum and dad won't mind;  
They love when company is in the house.  
And misery is something you won't find,  
If you spend just a while hereabout.

No? If not so, I'll visit you some day--  
But, ever terse, you brush my speech aside.  
We'll never meet again is what you say,  
And, not but looking back, bid me goodbye.

I walk in nervous silence through the dusk.  
We'll meet again, we will, someday. We must.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Personal biases did not influence this author's title.  
> Sorry for the abundance of slant rhymes, I'm studying for exams and can't think of better ones!


	11. Sonnet for a Letter--Adventure II, Page 49

“And don’t come visit me, I’ll visit you!”  
That exclamation point seems oddly placed;  
I glance up, let the light that’s streaming through  
The windows fill my eyes, dance on my face.

Where have you gone? You’ve left me here, alone.  
It’s true I’ve made a friend, and true that’s good;  
But something’s insincere about your tone,  
It makes me worried. Possibly I should

Rise from this chair and creep across the floor  
And follow in the steps you must have walked  
To leave this town, to flit away before  
I saw you and caught up and—what, we talked?

I cannot fathom why you’d leave like this—  
No word goodbye—I hope it’s me you’ll miss.


	12. (Hate) Sonnet for Absolute Hell--Adventure II, Page 50

It’s hell in absoluteness I’ve endured;  
It all smelled just like ancient wax and sweat.  
And day on day,* our misery uncured,  
I asked myself, “are we not home, not yet?”

Each morning drear, I woke from sleeping sore  
Upon a filthy mattress in the tank.  
Oh, all I really wanted anymore  
Was just a bed, but our conditions stank!

The food was made of candles, melted wax!  
The cattank broke, and so’d my self-esteem!  
We faced attack upon deadly attack!  
This journey was a wreck, is what I deem.

I sometimes wish I never left my home,  
Those unforgiving wastelands for to roam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *thanks for the edit, Richard Weir!


	13. Sonnet for White Clover--Adventure II, Page 51

How thou consumest every spot of land!  
Your petals, downy white like snow, enfold  
Each hill and vale within their gentle hand:  
They thrive upon the soil which trolls hold.

Your name, some long word in another tongue,  
Well fits your enigmatic nature, and  
I know that always in a land made young  
By sickness, you will find a place to stand.

So, clover white, O snowdrop clover dear,  
Make clean the earth that’s spoiled by the trolls.  
Let no more hint of darkness gather near,  
And cover all the forests and the knolls.

Although some skeptics say you simply must  
Be false, in your true nature I place trust.

 

So, it turns out that some Minnions pronounce the words "soil" and "spoiled" as one syllable, instead of two. Here's an edited version of the poem for their most worthy sake:

How thou consumest every spot of land!  
Your petals, downy white like snow, enfold  
Each hill and vale within their gentle hand:  
They thrive upon the soil which grosslings hold.

Your name, some long word in another tongue,  
Well fits your enigmatic nature, and  
I know that always in a land made young  
By sickness, you will find a place to stand.

So, clover white, O snowdrop clover dear,  
Make clean the earth that’s spoiled by roaming trolls.  
Let no more hint of darkness gather near,  
And cover all the forests and the knolls.

Although some skeptics say you simply must  
Be false, in your true nature I place trust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Richard Weir and Lee for edits!


	14. Sonnet for the Passage of Time--Adventure II, Page 52

"Do not forget to visit us," says Siv,  
And gives her Emil dear a hug farewell.  
"She's excellent, but too long has she lived  
To enter grade-A training; still, she's swell."

And Reynir's mother welcomes children home;  
Her heart can hardly take it, here they are!  
All over lost and silent lands they roam,  
But even so, they come back from afar.

And Reynir's father thanks the grumbling Trond  
For all his service; honored so was he  
To have him in his house--but none too fond  
Is this old soldier of the pleasantries.

And so time ticks along its course, and they  
Are drawn apart until some other day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks Ran and Windy for helping me figure out Siv's relationship to Emil. Long story of mine own confusion.


	15. Sonnet for The Comprehensive Expedited Summer Course--Adventure II, Page 53

So many fresh new faces, what a joy!  
No matter if you've known for days or years  
About your powers, now you will deploy  
Them, honing your great magic skills right here!

It's time to bring prosperity upon  
Your fellows, and your friends and families;  
For there's no better use than just this one  
For such gods-blessed responsibilities.

Good crops, good health, good luck in finding love,  
And taking care of animals on farms  
Or in the woods, or soaring high above;  
Now lift the mantle of your skills, take arms!

The world's a place that always needs a mage,  
Its hurts to heal and worries to assuage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, sure, Nellie. This is a great title. You're clearly not still addled [from an evil head cold] at all.


	16. Sonnet for His School Nemesis--Adventure II, Page 54

"It's strange, don't you agree," I asked her once,  
"To be the only guys in this whole class?"  
I realized not that I had been a dunce;  
It was a foolish question that I asked.

For "I'm a woman," said she, much annoyed,  
And rose and stalked away with great offence.  
I stuttered out "I'm sorry," but destroyed  
All hope of her returning ever hence.

Alas! I lay my head in hands, ashamed;  
This error I have no clue how to mend.  
For my own isolation I'll be blamed,  
And ever, will I ever make a friend?

But this is melodrama, I suppose;  
For elsewhere in my life, fine friendship grows.


	17. Sonnet for the Proper Courses--Adventure II, Page 55

So many things I've learned in this brief course,  
Like how to cure an ailment, or help crops  
Grow twice the size they would, or how to force  
A stubborn horse to move with brisker clops.

Still, more I wish to learn, so where to go  
To find the proper courses, take the class  
That teaches all the things there are to know  
About the use of magic to surpass

The dangers of the trolls and giants cruel--  
But what is this? She says it's not for me  
To join the military; in that school  
They train just those who have immunity.

Alas, to me that venue shuts its door--  
But here I won't remain, not anymore.


	18. Sonnet for Her Children--Adventure II, Page 56

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nellie, the teenager, tries to write a sonnet from the point of view of a mother. Gods, I hope I didn't mess this up horribly.

It's one by one by one my children go.  
Each has a different reason why they flee.  
One gave the crew his word some time ago;  
The others always have someplace to be.

I hug each one good-bye and softly sing,  
And watch their backs retreating from my view.  
They are my world, they are my everything;  
I'll miss them, though I'm proud of what they do.

One daughter stays behind, it's true, but yet--  
For just how long, there is no guarantee.  
They fly the coop so often, I would bet  
She'll stay a week at least, and at most, three.

At least my darling Rey will never leave!  
For his bright eyes I'll never have to grieve.*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *to which Reynir replied: "AaaghHH"


	19. Sonnet for the Man With the Horse--Adventure II, Page 57

I’ve travelled far and wide, and I have seen  
A thousand things along the paths I roam.  
Still, not a single place that I have been  
Can quite compare to my own quiet home.

And just the other day, I saw a sight  
Sufficient for to make me stay for good.  
A gorgeous farming man with smile bright  
Stood out my window; once I thought none should

Be on my mind, but here he is, and I  
Am rather taken by his courting arts.  
A bunch of flowers held he—and I sigh  
When thinking of his horse bedecked with hearts.

So now I’ll settle where my heart belongs;  
It’s for this fellow that my nature longs.


	20. Sonnet for Onni--Adventure II, Page 58

I hear them speaking words I do not know—  
Except a few, which fill me with despair.  
“Saimaa,” they say; oh Onni, where’d you go?  
I thought to Keuruu; seems you are not there.

I think, you fool, you fail to understand  
That you’re the one relation left to me.  
It’s desolation for yourself you’ve planned  
So like your sister, fleeing to the sea.

I need assistance, though I’m loath to ask  
From any quarter—least of all from him  
Whose bedside I now walk to give a task,  
To help me solve this situation grim.

So wake, O stupid braid-head, you must dream,  
And find my cousin, ask him of his means.


	21. Sonnet for Understanding--Adventure II, Page 59

A rude awakening you gave to me,  
An anxious finger poked into my eye.  
Now once again you prod ferociously,  
And gesture to your head as well as mine.

Such cruel and violent customs I don’t need  
To see the purpose that you would convey;  
If I could speak your language, I would plead  
For you to figure out some other way

To simply tell me, “meet me in our dreams!”  
The message isn’t harsh or hard to send.  
When darkness falls and moon, not sunlight, beams  
I’ll meet you in the hopes this treatment ends.

And maybe it won’t be so bad to walk  
Across the lake; perhaps as friends we’ll talk.


	22. Sonnet for a Morally Ambiguous Dog--Adventure II, Page 60

The red-haired mage expressed apologies:  
His dog had followed him across the lake.  
"He really likes to come along with me,"  
And thus, this journey too he'd dared to take.

The Finnish mage frowned like a thundercloud:  
Intruders were unwelcome in this place.  
"Bad dog," said he; the beast was not allowed  
To travel deeper still into his space.

The dog, with smile bright and tongue of pink,  
And eyes scrunched up with innocence and joy,  
Had no regard for what the mage might think:  
"Good dog," said he, and irkèd more the boy.

Determined was he not to be shut out--  
But was he good or bad? There lies the doubt.


	23. Sonnet for a Lie--Adventure II, Page 61

A bitter thing's an unexpected lie--  
Unseen, unthought, unheard of up to now--  
A thousand feelings for my focus vie,  
A seething coil pressing on my brow.

There is no comfort for a thing like this;  
No words, so frail like paper, can console  
My writhing thoughts, and on confusion's kiss  
I press into the walls, out of control.

Not quite. But still, a cruel thing has been wrought  
When one I knew as honest speaks untrue.  
My anger fades to worry. Lies are fraught  
With danger; what is happening to you?

My mind's sharp battle breathes its final sigh;  
But bitter is an unexpected lie.


	24. Sonnet for Immunity--Adventure II, Page 62

Immunity, my dear, wish thou were mine!  
It's you I think of, even in my dreams.  
If I could have you--ah, that would be fine;  
And, travelling, I'd no more fear for screams.

If you belonged to me, I would be saved  
From cruel assumptions whispered in my ear;  
Some say I'm not so clever, but I braved  
Great danger, and survived: that's why I'm here!

It surely must have taken smarts to live  
When trolls and danger clawed right at my back!  
But O, Immunity, if you would give  
Your hand, it would not matter if I lacked

Intelligence; with just you by my side  
We could succeed at anything we tried!


	25. Sonnet for Minna--Adventure II, Page 63

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The page was too pretty to write about anything other than my love and appreciation and worship for Minna!

It hardly would be right to write these lines  
Without some tribute to that artful one  
Who gives us, without fail, the work divine  
That draws us in, like planets round a sun.

O Minna, may I speak with courtesy  
Of all the talent that you kindly share  
With Minnions, who want nothing more to see  
Than your great epic, crafted with such care.

Each stroke constructs the forms of such a world  
As is alive with color--danger too;  
Like watercolors 'cross the page are furled  
The stories and the lives that stem from you.

I think I speak for all here when I deem  
Our gratitude to you is vast as dreams.


	26. Sonnet for Dog --Adventure II, Page 64

Thy instincts are impeccable, my dear;  
If you say turn away, away I'll run.  
When I have you to guide me, I've no fear  
That I'll be harmed or hurt by anyone.

My trust I give completely to you, friend,  
Thou spirit-guide through foggy spirit marsh.  
I know I'll never meet a bitter end  
Or be destroyed by creatures cruel and harsh.

My Voff, my dearest friend in this strange place,  
You know stuff, so it's back I'll go with you--  
Come Lalli, we must leave here, let's make haste  
Before our fragile safety wears right through.

I fear no dark reeds, heed no staring skull!  
My troubles, with you, Voff, are numbered null.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to speedracer for title edit!


	27. Sonnet for a Path--Adventure II, Page 65

A field of whitened flowers softly sways  
Beneath the waters blue and green and deep:  
In all the dream-world's lost and winding ways,  
We've found these waters of eternal sleep.

Three sunken prows, three mossy-shrouded hulls  
With holes carved deep into the rotting wood;  
Make fitting homes for quiet resting skulls--  
You say we should turn back. Perhaps we should.

But look, the white and green, a welcome road  
Form stepping stones for feet less light than yours,  
And though each sign and every warning bode  
Far less than well, I'll reach the other shores.

Don't hold me back; I fear no creature's wrath,  
And each white skull's a stone upon my path.


	28. Sonnet for Trouble--Adventure II, Page 66

Thou trickster of the shadow-shrouded ways,  
Thou lurker in the hearts of restless men!  
You whisper in my ears on dreary days  
To say "look further still, and look again."

Thou wanderer within the winding world,  
Thou vagrant, unexpected, unannounced!  
You stir within my soul, you come uncurled  
To say "fall deeper in, your cares renounced."

Thou bearer of a volatile match,  
Thou striker on the kindling of our flaws!  
You flutter in my heart, my hand you catch,  
To say "go further now, obey no laws."

No person can give help who meets with you,  
So I will seek another avenue.


	29. Sonnet for Innocent Sleep--Adventure II, page 67

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the title, Socks, I don't know where I'd be without you. Probably still sitting in front of a blank tear-stained keyboard.
> 
> That one end-chapter page where Lalli does a thing and all the Minnions collectively broke.

A smile's etched serene upon your face,  
Oblivious to sorrow carved in mine.  
No fresh warm food, no soft words can erase  
The worry settled heavily inside.

My mind is blank, but still it darkly reels,  
The blackened mass so rushed I cannot tell  
If nothing or too much my swift heart feels--  
If I'm aflame, or just an empty shell.

My hand shakes not a bit now as I write  
To let you know I've followed where he's gone.  
Perhaps you'll miss me, vanished in the light  
Of morning, but I have to do you wrong.

Your smile, soft as stars, deserves no pain  
But that is all I feel or stand to gain.


	30. Sonnet for the Academy--Adventure II, Page 68

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sonnet, perhaps, in form, if not in tone.  
> So many exclamation marks! Is this how WE'RE THE BEST THEME SONGS usually work?

Sing praises of that fine Academy,  
Where felines train, in courses sanctioned well,  
To save and to protect humanity!  
It's such a grand old place, and really swell!

In Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark too,  
Our fuzzy friends arrive from far and wide!  
They come untrained, they don't know what to do,  
But leave the barracks strong and full of pride!

The blessed felines, utterly immune,  
Alone of all the mammals, to the Rash,  
Will yowl nevermore at silent moon,  
But at the trolls, so we can make them ash.

So sing and laud that fine Academy!  
They train the greatest cats impeccably!


	31. Sonnet for Treats--Adventure II, Page 69

I came to this Academy to learn  
To be a Grade A military cat.  
I hoped respect and honor I would earn,  
A creature for all folks to marvel at!

But all those fine ambitions fell away  
The moment that I met my heart's delight!  
Oh treats, so sweet, you bring the brightest day  
Whenever you are brought into my sight!

My darling, my desire in hard times  
When trolls cannot be found, when I am frail,  
The knowledge that someday you will be mine  
Doth keep me sane despite how much I ail.

Alas, my love, they sunder me from you!  
They're bringing me to rehab--what to do?


	32. Sonnet for the City--Adventure II, Page 70

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ooooookay, Nellie, this is...cheerful.  
> Seriously, where did this come from?? Well, sorry, I hope I didn't depress anyone. _Do not follow any of the "instructions" given in this poem._

The buildings slant up high in orange light,  
And soft, a buzz of chatter fills the air.  
Lock up, lock up your heartache, hold it tight--  
Don't show your fear to those who do not care.

The trees and flowers bud along the road,  
And bursts of laughter bloom like flowers bright.  
Hide deep, hide deep your worry, keep it stowed--  
Don't let your terror enter in their sight.

The cats sit licking unconcernèd paws  
And purring at the warmth of sun and stone.  
Tie down, tie down distrust, and follow laws  
Composed by those who never felt alone.

Just look around and listen, unperceived,  
At all the things that you will have to leave.


	33. Sonnet for Was Nice Know--Adventure II, Page 71

Sonnet for Was Nice Know

So many words surround me all the time,  
In languages I cannot comprehend.  
And even in the tongue which I call mine,  
I sometimes fail to see or apprehend.

So many things I want to tell you here,  
Before I leave you, never to return.  
I wanted to remain with you, but fear  
For others I hold dear, for whom I yearn,

Brings pen to paper; word by stilted word,  
I write a note to let you know I've left.  
My sentences are shaky, spelling blurred--  
Of eloquence I'm certain I'm bereft.

I cannot say half that I wish to show,  
And all my cares are written "was nice know."


	34. Sonnet for Butter Good--Adventure II, Page 71

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, yes, so I wanted to write more sonnets because I'm a sonnet freak, and I realized that I really hadn't written about the most significant thing on this page, so I did. And it basically ended up being almost the exact same premise as my first sonnet for this page, but I hope that's okay.

Sonnet for Butter Good

Be well, my Emil, may you feel no pain;  
A certainty it is you've had your share,  
So let the sunsets and the summer rain  
Be comforts--let them wash away despair.

Be well, my friend, and may you now be free  
From all the darks and dangers of this place.  
A fate still twisted lies in wait for me,  
But hope yet lives within your eyes and face.

Be well, defender, may you live a life  
Unburdened by the trial of the flame;  
May you encounter neither fear nor strife,  
And send your worries back from whence they came.

I cannot say these things, although I should;  
The most I can express is "butter good."


	35. Sonnet for Knowing--Adventure II, Page 72

They seem to think their secrets safe with me,  
As though I am some tomb of knowledge kept  
Unbidden and unasked for; none will see  
The things divulged about the ones who crept

Away at night and to some foreign shore;  
They told me things and gave the others lies  
And thought I'd never ask or wonder more  
About the friends I've made as off they fly.

But all the secrets swarm inside my head;  
And anyway, they should have understood  
That I am not a vault, won't leave unsaid  
The things that, spoken, would do others good.

So trust me not, if danger's what you seek,  
A rock I'm not; I know my time to speak.


	36. Sonnet for Finland--Adventure II, Page 73

I'm loath indeed now to return back home  
And painfully aware of what I leave;  
But time's wound up, and no more can I roam--  
No matter where I go, some part will grieve.

So back to Finland and its wooded groves  
Where danger lies in wait by every tree,  
Where dusklings swarm in multitudes and droves--  
But that's the place that shapes my memories.

The path's unclear, it doubles and it loops,  
By Bornholm or by Sweden, names I catch  
As garbled words I know not chase swift hoops  
About me, leaving me far overmatched.

But let me travel back by road or sea  
To place of memory or misery.


	37. Sonnet for Circularity--Adventure II, Page 74

The guardsman at the entrance sent me on  
To go by Bornholm on the "Krabben" lines;  
But only junk did those folks carry yon,  
And had no stop that fitted my design.

They sent me "over there" to make request,  
But Norwaybound did that ship's journey run.  
They said to go to Sweden, and my quest  
To get to Finland would be soundly done.

But inventory only was their task;  
They spurned my question, looking put-upon.  
They sent me to the entrance for to ask--  
The guardsman at the entrance sent me on.

A funny thing is circularity;  
I follow it--in turn, it follows me!


	38. Sonnet for Help--Adventure II, Page 75

Your cousin gave the slip and bailed on you,  
And you returned the strategy in kind--  
But Lalli, we're your friends now, through and through,  
And that is why it's you we've come to find.

Sigrun, she wanted just to go back home;  
Insistence from Mikkel brought her around.  
Fair Emil also shouted _we must roam_ ,  
And Reynir, too, desired you'd be found.

So into cityscape and city street  
We wandered till we saw you as you ran  
Right past, refusing human gaze to meet,  
A scribbled drawing held within your hand.

Now don't refuse us, don't turn us away;  
We want to help--once more into the fray!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> should've saved the title for a sonnet about Rey, I know...


	39. Sonnet for Asking--Adventure II, Page 76

At nights alone in forests silver-white,  
The moon his only quiet company,  
The grass-tips all aflame with ghostly light,  
He learned to live untouched and solit'ry.

No beast could make him run or cry for aid,  
No task was there he couldn't face alone.  
A lonely and efficient world he made--  
He came and went unnoticed and unknown.

His moonlight met with fire's burning heart,  
Which scorched the marble of his lonely shrine--  
But when he made his mind up to depart,  
He begged no help, and closeness he declined.

Cut off, cut loose, but never cut away,  
For fire follows friend through night and day.


	40. Sonnet for How You're Supposed to Travel--Adventure II, Page 77

O rooms partitioned with the greatest care,  
And furnished with fine desks and bathrooms, too!  
O beds with sheets as warm as summer air,  
And carpets soft as clouds in skies of blue!

A soft contented chatter fills the halls,  
The lights are warm and welcome with their glow;  
Wide windows beckon sun through sturdy walls,  
Revealing gulls that circle to and fro.

Compartments, wide and wooden-paneled, yawn  
Receiving all our bags so helpfully!  
The rolling cases make no sound upon  
The gentle floor--and so we're off to sea!

Now this is how you're meant to travel, dears--  
In comfort and in safety, with no fears!


	41. Sonnet for A Private Cabin--Adventure II, Page 78

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or: Sonnet for Why the Hell Can't I Just Get a Decent Place To Sleep?

When first I left that comfy, home-called place,  
Upon a dirty couch I had to sleep  
And rest an ugly book upon my face,  
And in discomfort, how I wished to weep!

When in the train, in narrow bunks we lay  
And all throughout the night the ride was rough--  
And then a fearsome troll great waste did lay  
To us, as though discomfort weren't enough!

And on the expedition? Narrow boards  
With dirty mattresses, both rough and thin!  
And when I came to Iceland? No reward  
Of my own private room did I yet win!

And even now, though it's luxurious,  
A cabin we must share--the five of us!


	42. Sonnet for a Cool Gig--Adventure II, Page 79

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ha-ha, this is my 42nd sonnet, it must be the answer to life, the universe, and everything! :P

Farm maging's not the job for me, you know;  
It's boring, unfulfilling, not my jam.  
So lucky 'tis that I have friends! I'll go  
And follow where they wander, on the lam.

I stuffed a note into my sister's hand,  
And held my conscience back and ran away.  
Now I will travel all the blighted land  
With gear to keep the rash disease at bay.

Old Norway's army won't accept me, true--  
But lots of places out there need a mage!  
I'm ready to be off, there's things to do,  
And I will do them all before I age.

So I'm aboard, don't throw me in the brig;  
I'll search the world around for one cool gig!


	43. Sonnet for Dolphins--Adventure II, Page 80

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I am Nellie, Render of Hearts and Serial Apologizer for Said Rended Hearts

The sunlight used to shine upon our backs  
And glimmer on the iridescent drops  
That flew in parabolic sky-sea tracks  
As from the sea we leapt without a stop.

Then sickness closed us in and clustered near,  
And blue-green festered grey beneath its hands.  
The sea was choked, and sunlight disappeared,  
Less open to us even than the land.

Our happy yips and chirps turned into screams;  
Our smiles stretched and filled with broken teeth.  
Our fins grew twisted limbs, and swimming seems  
A task too painful, and without relief.

The only color now is carmine blood  
Which blooms like sickly flowers in the flood.


	44. Sonnet for Bornholm--Adventure II, Page 81

I did a month in quarantine before,  
Upon return from travels harrowing.  
And now, the second time I leave my door,  
I see my chances waning, narrowing.

O Bornholm, where I thought the palm trees grew--  
(And flowers, huge and colorful and bright!)  
It seems that fate would keep me far from you,  
Unblessed by Danish sun's warm southern light.

Upon an island fake's the hub for trade;  
The island is closed-off by quarantine.  
I'd be less disappointed if I'd stayed,  
And left the wide world but conceived, not seen.

For sundered am I from my heart's desire:  
Sweet Bornholm, only land that I admire.


	45. Sonnet for The Remembering Man--Adventure II, Page 82

O man exalted in this shadowed maze,  
Fair fellow glorified by arrow-mind!  
To times gone past with piercing eyes you gaze,  
And greying coils of lost things unwind!

Though, like the morning mist, some things do fade  
When present times present themselves like sun,  
The tapestry our minds, unbidden, made,  
You pluck at like a harp; it comes undone.

Forms pass us, dark and drear, most every day;  
We cannot see inside their hidden hearts.  
We don't recall them when they walk away;  
Brief things are lost for good when they depart.

But when our memories can't serve, yours can;  
So tell us this and that, rememb'ring man!

**Different version for those who pronounce 'coil' as one syllable rather than two:**

O man exalted in this shadowed maze,  
Fair fellow glorified by arrow-mind!  
To times gone past with piercing eyes you gaze,  
And greying coils of long-lost things unwind!

Though, like the morning mist, some things do fade  
When present times present themselves like sun,  
The tapestry our minds, unbidden, made,  
You pluck at like a harp; it comes undone.

Forms pass us, dark and drear, most every day;  
We cannot see inside their hidden hearts.  
We don't recall them when they walk away;  
Brief things are lost for good when they depart.

But when our memories can't serve, yours can;  
So tell us this and that, rememb'ring man!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for pointing out the "coil" syllables, Richard Weir!


	46. Sonnet for the Sea--Adventure II, Page 83

The sea is dark and indigo and wide,  
Beneath a sky of tarnished silver-grey.  
It carries us upon its changing tides  
On paths set up by fate: we must obey.

It brought us from all corners of our world,  
A ragtag crew who didn't know the price  
Of all the trials lying crouched and curled  
Along the road laid out by avarice.

(The golden one thought travel was more swift  
Upon the sea than going by a train.  
But now he sees that floating all adrift  
Upon the ocean is a pokey pain.)

No matter all the tribulations, though,  
The sea has brought us friends we're glad to know.


	47. Sonnet for Saimaa--Adventure II, Page 84

We cut a quiet track between the trees  
That loom foreboding, green like dusk and dark  
'Round water purple-silver; not a breeze  
Dares stir that surface with a single mark.

They hedge us in, surround me with my fears  
Each pricking, pointing finger on each bough  
Rasps sing-song with the wind and softly jeers,  
_Go back, go back, you cannot save him now._

Yet still I'm drawn along, a siren-song  
That lures me with the promises of home:  
The fog-enshrouded woods where I belong,  
The rocky, needled grounds I used to roam.

Two songs, two melodies of fear and trust--  
I can't go forward, but proceed I must.


	48. Sonnet for a Journey (Sonnet for Friends)--Adventure II, Page 85

You huddle at the windows, peering out,  
And watch your destination edging near  
With lumb'ring stride and wistful tempest-shout,  
A snarl and a much-foreboding sneer.

You thought (again) adventure was your end,  
A journey grand with friends and family,  
But you grow ever-solemn as you wend  
Your weary, winding way to mystery.

Dear friends, draw closer still as walls hedge round  
Enclosing you in dark and dreary grey.  
Forget your grievances, forget the sounds  
Of words unknown when they have aught to say.

You share no more than three or four months past,  
But share this sight (for it may be your last).


	49. Sonnet for a Translator--Adventure II, Page 86

_Please, someone translate for the foreigners._  
My language shares no word nor phrase with theirs,  
But unlike me, all languages were hers,  
To let her find her wings and take the air.

My isolation's summit was her flight,  
The crushing pinnacle of my despair.  
My silence was unbroken, day and night,  
When once she found her wings and took the air.

In solitude I suffered for the sea--  
No word that I could recognize was there  
For months on end, and now it's up to me  
(Since she has found her wings and taken air)

To translate without words for half my speech  
Since she took flight upon a storm-tossed beach.


	50. Sonnet for A Passing Ship--Adventure II, Page 87

In days long past we saw ships trawling by  
Their broad decks filled with people night and day--  
And, voices raised in laughter to the sky,  
They leaned across the sides, then sailed away.

We used to gallop from the greenery,  
With rolling gait, keep pace from edge of shade,  
With darting eyes skip back among the trees  
When searching gazes spotted our parade.

Then sickness washed the woodland like a wave,  
And rotted out our minds, once sweet and sound.  
The decks turned empty, silent as the grave;  
Forgotten prints all faded from the ground.

Although our minds are dripping with disease,  
We still keep quiet vigil from the trees.


	51. Sonnet for a Seal-Beast--Adventure II, Page 88

Beware, and watch the murky waterway!  
For gaping maw and whip-tongues undulate  
Beneath the waves, where quiet seaweeds sway  
And seal-beasts full of spear-teeth lie in wait.

Their giant flippers stir the blue-green deep  
With darker tones, the muddy-reds of death,  
And wash the tide with sickness as we sleep,  
In wary, fraught repose (still drawing breath).

Where seabed ends and rotting limbs begin,  
And whether seaweed sways from flesh or sand,  
We cannot know or tell--its toothy grin  
Devours all, so stay upon the land.

A seal-beast latent lies just off the shore;  
We'll wander in the waterways no more!


	52. Sonnet for the Chapter Break--Adventure II, Page 89

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because I just had to write a sonnet. :-P  
> Thank you, ILoveMySocksAndSweater, for the prompt!!
> 
> And seriously, although I greatly dramatize our alleged "suffering," we all really know that Minna deserves this break so, so much and I wouldn't actually want her to not take it!!!

There is a time that weighs upon our hearts--  
The heavy weight of absence, empty void--  
A deprivation of the vital arts  
That make us feel great joy (or else destroyed).

Some wander through the comments every day,  
Some vanish--silently, they leave us here--  
And others, as they brim full of dismay,  
Press F5, praying one rogue page appear!

Still more, to pass the slowly-ticking time,  
Endure by illustration or by pen,  
By story or with meter and with rhyme--  
A game they play each time, and time again.

Despite our sorrows, though, we all agree  
This break brings Minna rest, so let it be!


	53. Sonnet for Separation--Adventure II, Page 90

One leads the group through winding gravelled streets,  
No guiding chatter, not a friendly sound,  
With eyes averted from all those he meets,  
Fixed straight ahead upon the stony ground.

His soulmate lags behind their fellow friends,  
With coat held at his side and searching eyes  
That ponder every doorstep as he wends  
A solemn, quiet way, and softly sighs.

They walked, companions, once, through war and waste,  
Defending and protecting, side by side,  
Through wilds and through wilderness they raced,  
Fair fire and fell fire's quiet guide.

Now separated threefold, speaking not,  
They wander, sharing silence, seeking, sought.


	54. Sonnet for an Entourage--Adventure II, Page 92

The silent scout with catlike grace proceeds  
Afront the group, to help them find a sign;  
With pond'rous frown and not a word he leads,  
By faithful feline followed, first in line.

The red-haired mage comes after that, his grin  
Undimmed by time and lost naïveté,  
And next the medic, stoic as he's been  
Since first they took their job and drove away.

And after him, the reckless captain dear,  
Exuberant unto a fault and fray,  
And last the fire-fiend, who's always near  
To ward the shadows and the trolls away.

Through streets unknown, unwandered, unexplored,  
They search the town, precautions left ignored.


	55. Sonnet for Over...There...ish--Adventure II, Page 93

An island doesn't seem so far away  
Until you trawl the distance in between,  
Through dire straits, 'neath skies of blue and gray,  
O'er waves of purple and of em'rald green.

I need to rent a boat, to chart a path  
To find my cousin, vanished in the night.  
I'll face a giant or a duskling's wrath  
To save him from Its rusty ruby light.

But where to travel on the darkening sea?  
Over...there...ish, that's all I can say.  
With eyes shut up in peace, he says to me,  
He'll sell, not rent, there is no other way.

(Unless of course, it comes back in one piece.  
Of all the likely outcomes, that is least.)


	56. Sonnet for a Box of Worms--Adventure II, Page 94

A dusty shop, with items there amassed,  
Most old, few new, all crowded wall to wall.  
We saw them in the doorway as we passed,  
But now their number holds us quite in thrall.

A dusty sail, a broken fishing rod,  
A length of rope that trails across the ground.  
A skeleton that's looking rather odd--  
These things--and more!--are clustered all around.

But best of all by far is sitting there,  
Upon an upturned wooden packing crate.  
Inside, though they are found most anywhere:  
Some worms, so pink and squiggly: they're great!

So Hi! Nice box of worms! They're looking fine!  
They give your shop a lovely added shine.


	57. Sonnet for Sleeping Under a Tree--Adventure II, Page 95

Among the bristle-branches of the pines,  
The shafts of starlight filtered in between,  
On needles soft the wayward scout reclines,  
In quietness reposes, all unseen.

He ate a meal of berries from the ground,  
Their sweetness, ripe and ready, dropping fast  
From branches overladen, soft the sound  
Of glossy berries falling, full at last.

Content to sleep in woodland's cradle-bed,  
Content to dine on woodland's wild food,  
He needs not tent nor table, feels no dread  
When contemplating what they can't construe.

...Alas, his friends are stupid, naught they know  
Of finding comfort anywhere you go.


	58. Sonnet for Instructions--Adventure II, Page 96

The Dane shows pictograms, all drawn with care:  
A tent, a knife, a blanket roll, a gun;  
His face serene, a smile looking fair  
And full of honor when the day is done.

The Captain with her scribbled sketch is fierce;  
She shouts and points and frightens passers-by.  
They cannot understand the cries that pierce  
The air around, and so, concerned, they fly.

The red-haired mage feels helpful now once more,  
With illustration labelled carefully.  
His grin polite, it's aid he's asking for;  
His eyes are shining bright and hopefully.

The Finn, frustrated, scratches at his neck.  
His friend stays waiting for his call and beck.


	59. Sonnet for a Scratchy Coat--Adventure II, Page 97

The coat I chose to wear to travel out  
From little farm in safety tucked away  
Fits well, looks fine, and yet it is without  
The one essential charm for which I pray.

Its fabric, itchy wool, disturbs my peace,  
And scratches at my neck with threadwork rough;  
Alas! Will this disturbance never cease?  
I tell you truly, I have had enough!

I dart into a shop and leave my friend,  
His face disgruntled as I close the door.  
I've money and a willingness to spend  
My coins upon such cloak as once I wore.

You fools, you thought that I had caught disease,  
But only awful fashion threats my ease.


	60. Sonnet for his Old Home Place--Adventure II, Page 98

With no nostalgic smile on his face  
Nor glint of satisfaction in his eye,  
He thinks and speaks of unforgotten place  
Where first he learned that safety was a lie.

No fondness settles lightly on his brow,  
No sweetness grants his lips a gentle curve.  
Returning Then, though he has reached the Now,  
Will be the task to test him, heart and nerve.

He has no joy upon the turquoise lake,  
The leaf-green sky brings worry, not delight.  
His stomach twists, his heart and head both ache,  
And eyes desire any other sight.

Sing not the praises of this lovely world;  
Into a past unwanted it lies curled.


	61. Sonnet for the Lost Settlements--Adventure II, Page 99

Joy once belonged to Finland most, they say,  
Renowned in old-world sites and books of lore;  
Now half its greens have withered, turned to grey,  
And laughter rings our forests--nevermore.*

These towns (it's said) once crowded full with life,  
The streets festooned with chatter and good cheer;  
Now half vitality has turned to strife  
And neighbors evermore are gone from here.

The winter nights turned warm before their fires,  
With golden light that spilled from windowpanes;  
Now half our comfort's turned to trollish ire,  
And we forevermore recall their pains.

The settlements are lost, drowned out by time;  
But keep them unforgotten in this rhyme.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I'm not channeling "The Raven" I'm not channeling "The Raven" I'm...
> 
> ...yeah, I'm channeling "The Raven."


	62. Sonnet for the Sunset--Adventure II, Page 101

The lady lays to rest behind the trees;  
Her orange cloak and rosy tresses fall  
To drift with secret sleepiness on seas  
Untouched, unswum by humankind at all.

The rock is grey and smooth, as is the smoke  
That melancholy drifts from fire bright:  
A soporific scent; and when we woke  
It lingered still in morning's purple light.

The night is dark and difficult and deep,  
The waters unforgiving in the swell  
With bony hands and slitherers that creep;  
But here we're kept both warm and very well.

The canvas' protection is a lie,  
But we'll pretend we hear no passers-by.


	63. Sonnet for an Arrival--Adventure II, Page 102

The turquoise water in between the pines  
Is rippled and disturbed by our canoe;  
With hectic, unexpected water-lines  
We wend our wary way the whole strait through.

A rotted dock, a sign with faded paint  
And crumbling wood awaits us at the shore.  
Let form and harried heart be never faint  
So we will not be trapped here evermore.

The lake is still and silent but for us,  
Our splashing oars, our quiet breaths and talk;  
The skittish leaves don't dare to make a fuss,  
The heavy air unmoving, white as chalk.

So somewhere's where we've come to, and we'll see  
If ever we will leave the waiting trees.


	64. Sonnet for Fishing--Adventure II, Page 103

An exercise in such futility  
I've never met in all my harried years;  
For dangers lurk within the briny sea  
Too great, too dark, portending grief and tears.

Besides, it's to the forest I belong,  
The sweetly scented woodlands and the trees  
Cocooned and deep, mysterious and strong  
Disturbed by not a birdsong or a breeze.

The risk is ever present when you cast  
A rod or hook to splash the shadowed blue,  
That, when you reel your catch to shore at last,  
A troll and not a fish will grin at you!

So no! I don't like fishing! Go away!  
Come back when you have useful things to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for pointing out my horrible overuse of the word "dark," and for suggesting "shadowed," Richard!


	65. Sonnet for a Skeleton--Adventure II, Page 104

Your flesh is torn away, the sinew-stuff  
That keeps you warm and safe and full of life;  
No insulation left--or not enough--  
Protecting you from cold and surest strife.

Your blood is drained; the warm sustaining force,  
Essential, bittersweet and colored bright,  
Which through your veins would slow and surely course--  
Extinguished, like the summer's dying light.

Your voice is gone, your quiet thoughtless hum  
In night and day, the background to your form;  
Your chatter's left, and never more to come  
On winter nights when friends would keep us warm.

You're only bones now, rotting into rust;  
Your rafters giving up, becoming dust.


	66. Sonnet for Visitors--Adventure II, Page 105

You don't show up around here anymore,  
You wanderers with packs and brightened eyes  
And wind within your cloaks; the ocean shore  
Is in your hearts, the sea-swell's fall and rise.

I haven't seen your kind in months or years,  
No foggy figures slipping from the trees,  
Their footsteps bold, without a trace of fears,  
But quiet like the lapping of their seas.

I've watched the same old faces for so long,  
And never caught a glimpse of something new,  
That now, bespying you who don't belong,  
I scarcely think you're real; you can't be true.

Oh, visitors. Hello, you starry souls.  
Beware the night. You travel with the trolls.


	67. Sonnet for a Crazy Hermit--Adventure II, Page 106

A crazy hermit shows that he's obsessed  
By gardening 'neath starlight and 'neath sun  
Without a moment's pause or second's rest,  
For he won't leave one single task undone.

A crazy hermit demonstrates true love  
By pruning hedge 'neath skies of blue and black  
Without an instant's dropping of his glove  
Nor placement of his shears upon a rack.

A crazy hermit flaunts his endless care  
By weeding and by shovelling the dirt;  
For not a single minute will he dare  
To cease, although his blisters start to hurt.

And strangest thing of all? I do declare:  
He's tidying for no-one! No-one's there!


	68. Sonnet for One Day--Adventure II, Page 107

One day, I'll place my shovel in a shed  
And wander in the flowers I have grown.  
One day, my garden will protect the dead  
Who lie beneath the soil, dust and bone.

But peaceful will the fallen be, one day,  
One day when trouble toils here no more,  
One day when children cheerfully will play  
Above the quiet sleeping 'neath the shore.

One day, I'll welcome strangers happily,  
With no thought to the place they wander from.  
One day, the sun is all that I will see  
And only lovely ones shall hither come.

One day, this island will be settled well.  
One day, I will not have to live in Hell.


	69. Sonnet for Tuuri--Adventure II, Page 108

Bright eyes, bright face, bright mind and brighter heart,  
Her curiosity would be her end.  
They said we were like cats—we walked apart,  
But knew we not what suchlike cats portend.

O light! You were more bird that cat, I deem,  
Your trilling song, your quick, inspecting gaze;  
Your hopefulness, a soft, undying gleam  
Though trollish fogs and duskling’s plaugeish haze.

Where are you now? My lost one in the waves,  
The cold, uncaring flood stole back your breath.  
And whence did you alight? My child brave,  
How could you meet with such a one as death?

O swallowed dove, my sister in the sea!  
My salty tears can’t call you back to me.


	70. Sonnet for a Child--Adventure II, Page 109

I've shrunk. I'm small. I've lost my adult form!  
My strength and height and muscle--down the drain!  
The last I knew, I'd settled nice and warm  
Into a bed, and now I meet this pain!

My clothes are fancy, but my eyes are wide  
With terror and with seeing this disgrace.  
I do not know how I can bear my pride  
With elegance when I've a child's face.

And look! There's Reynir, braid shorn off his head!  
He looks confused as currently I feel.  
I think this is the worst of any bed  
That I have slept upon in this ordeal.

At least my hair's intact and beautiful.  
No time can rob it of its volume full.


	71. Sonnet for Curious Circumstances--Adventure II, Page 110

The world is bright with sunlight through the leaves  
And sparkles on the water in the glade.  
In mossy corners, shadow gives reprieve  
To sun-chased forest-creatures in the shade.

And we are children once again, it seems,  
But still unquiet thoughts are in our minds.  
No innocence like sunshine's golden gleams  
Has yet returned, though all our forms rewind.

Who are you? Though I know you very well,  
I do not know this form which you possess.  
And though we stand in lively wooded dell,  
I wonder if we've come here in duress.

O Circumstances Strange, why are we here?  
Is this a cause for joy, or one for fear?


	72. Sonnet for a Dream--Adventure II, Page 111

We walk in sunlight over water clear,  
And hear the birds sing fright-songs from the trees  
And know that danger must be harbored near  
Within these woods unruffled by a breeze.

Ahead, within the shadows, walk the ones  
Who only dwell in dream-world's memory;  
By troll-claw and disease they were undone  
And laid to sleep in perpetuity.

And whither do you wander, ghostly group?  
Your faces pale like sickness and like death,  
Demeanor hushed and angry, on you troop;  
You're blank and merciless and draw no breath.

We follow swift through pastways full of fear.  
We do not wish to linger longer here.


	73. Sonnet for Young Onni (Sonnet for It's Been Too Long Since I Wrote One Of These)--Adventure II, Page 119

My cousin is at work on shepherd-farms,  
With smelly sheep and trampled, brown-green grass.  
He carries woolly bundles in his arms  
And helps to harvest ere the season's pass.

My cousin's young inside this memory,  
His future--if not bright--at least intact;  
My cousin fears not for our family,  
But one day he will learn to guard our track.

My cousin. He is helping, he is whole.  
My cousin. She is at his side, aglow.  
Her smile. It is bright, a star she stole  
From where it hovered over oceans low.

They're trapped inside this flitting, fading dream,  
And nothing stays for long the way it seems.


	74. Sonnet for Stupidity--Adventure II, Page 139

A desperate echo etched across the years;  
Adrift on tempest-time it ravages  
A family brought to trouble and to tears  
By troll and rash that rends and savages.

With gnarled cane of bone and fossiled wood  
Destruction's rolling eyes and rotting head  
Come peering where such persons never should  
And knocking out a toll to leave us dead.

It preys on folly, catches at our skin  
Where frailest it lies stretched across the bone,  
Or hooks a curving fingernail within  
To scrape the fear to languish all alone.

We mutter to ourselves, these whispered words  
That cannot drown the speech that we have heard.


	75. Sonnet for My Eyes--Adventure II, Page 140

A dreadful sickness festers in my eyes;  
It coils in a rash-form underneath  
The blues and greys, the layers where it dies  
And rots to a monstrosity beneath.

Avert your gaze, look not into those pools  
Which look so light but spiral fathoms down  
Where tentacles are waiting to unspool  
And drag you deeper, bringing you to drown.

The waters will grow warmer with your blood,  
And in that heat the illness multiplies  
And washes through your body in a flood,  
Invading to the music of your cries.

My child, turn your gaze unto the ground  
Where life no longer lingers all around.


	76. Sonnet for Mixed Signals--Adventure II, Page 141

She told me not to look her in the eyes,  
To turn away, avert my widened gaze;  
For through the shade of peaceful cloudy skies  
The ailing fire of the sun would blaze.

She screamed at me to look her in the eyes,  
While she was speaking, that way I should turn;  
But through the silver-grey I could surmise  
A monster waited with a fever-burn.

My eyes were open, taking in the world,  
I turned this way and that, to her, away--  
Behind my eyes the storm reflected whirled  
Destroying much, though never long to stay.

So we are whisked and ravaged by the gale--  
Not long, not long, until our strength will fail.


	77. Sonnet Without Sadness--Adventure II, Page 142

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find the ominous "undertones," Socks, I dare you!

Unloading all our things, he fell asleep;  
Now lies he snoring on our faded couch.  
Do not disturb him! do not make a peep  
Except to giggle at his sleepy slouch.

Receiving you with gladness that you've come  
To tell us tales of harvest-time ashore,  
One hand I raise to greet, the other thumb  
Neglects to leave the page on which I pore.

Elysian autumn, spend them all the same;  
Some quiet days of work and then of rest--  
One day has passed before we knew it came  
Here, tucked within our safe and sleepy nest.

Now shaded in the green, I sit and read  
Of far-off lands, and long-forgotten deeds.


	78. Sonnet for a Critter--Adventure II, Page 143

A critter comes and pokes me in the eye,  
Disturbing me in midst of sweetest sleep--  
To rouse me from the softness where I lie  
Quite lost in dream-fog, ponderous and deep.

O critter! Must you always wake me thus?  
For surely you can plot some other way,  
Some method that involves less pain and fuss,  
To lift me from my bed to greet the day.

Your poking glove the sword on which I die,  
My vision is impaled, the world erased  
By tears that flood my view and block the sky--  
And when they clear, I see my critter's face.

But hark--the critter brings unwelcome tales  
A monster wakes: our village festers, ails.


	79. Sonnet for the Wait--Adventure II, Page 144

The wire loops in unforgiving curls  
With barbs set stark and black against the flame--  
The fire, with its tremors and its whirls,  
Its light that drowns the path on which we came.

There's no return. There is no going back.  
The night is thick and cold and full of sores  
That bleed a fog that filters through the black  
And shivers on the edges of our shores.

If we could watch the sea, be sure, we would--  
Instead, we watch for morning's fickle sight,  
The sickly yellow seeping through the wood  
To douse the warmth and glow of firelight.

We watch. The night is sick, the sun is late.  
The ship is on its way. We only wait.


	80. Sonnet for the Years--Adventure II, Page 145

A round face, soft, and full of quiet life,  
With downy hair of silver-grey; and eyes--  
His eyes--so round and wondering, where strife  
Has not yet dared to lay its harsh surprise.

He has not felt the horrors of the woods,  
(At least, not felt them quite so desperately)  
The years like claws that claw as nothing should,  
That cut his cheeks to sharpness, make him freeze.

His eyes--his eyes--so dark and closed these days,  
His hair untended, rough and calloused skin--  
The gentle flame of youth has dulled its blaze;  
A sole, sustaining candle burns within.

The years have stolen softness from a boy  
Too young, too young to lose his little joy.


	81. Sonnet for a Sister--Adventure II, Page 145

Asleep within my arms, so unafraid,  
The fear that soon would fill her held at bay;  
The sun with careless dapples softly played  
Upon her little form at close of day.

Her face unworried, calm—her eyes held shut  
With rest, and not with fear and hurt like mine--  
My hand was on her back, the silence cut  
By broken sounds, our future's grim design.

At rest, a blanket holding fast our heat,  
The warmth of blood alive within our veins--  
She feared no loss, my dear, naive and sweet,  
In sleep, she couldn't see the coming pains.

And come they would, like shadows to our sight  
That gather thick and suffocate your sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, AndyW, for being my dictionary...totally had the wrong definition of “unscrupulous” in my head


	82. Sonnet for the Reeds--Adventure II, Page 146

The reeds are whispering, the air is still,  
The sleepy weight of dreamtime settled round;  
Grey water lapping quiet, water chill,  
And otherwise our voices all the sound.

The rocks are dreaming underneath the lake,  
The lilypads are sleeping up above,  
And we are sleeping here until we wake  
To greet a world that grants us little love.

Our boat half-sunk, we perch upon its sides;  
To break the water's peace we do not fear.  
So, speaking of the sorrows that abide,  
We name our plight to any list'ning ear.

And who can hear us, here among the reeds?  
Unless they bend their heads--unless they heed--


	83. Sonnet for an Ending Dream--Adventure II, Page 147

My voice that breaks the silent dreaming air  
Drifts outward on the slow-dispersing mist  
That clouds my vision, hiding all that's there  
And swallowing my sentence with a hiss.

The fog surrounds me, here in starless night  
Then clears and gives the way to morning sun,  
The seagulls wheeling, calling high and bright  
To greet us as we waken, one by one.

Beyond that wall of fog--of dream or death--  
Perhaps the boat and lake are lying still;  
The empty air that seems to hold its breath  
Devoid now of our living voices' spill.

Without the dreamers, where then is the dream?  
Intact, or far less solid than it seems?


	84. Sonnet for Hope--Adventure II, Page 148

The boat sets out, on course for unknown lands;  
We do not know what lies beneath the bow.  
We do not know just where our quarry stands,  
Or what he's done, or what he's doing now.

Our cat is curled, contented, in the prow,  
The waters flung around her in the sun,  
And from my perch behind her, looking round,  
The days that stretch ahead merge into one.

One afternoon, that courts the edge of night--  
One afternoon, with sundown closing in.  
One afternoon, but how long lasts the light?  
For this one afternoon, I know we'll win.

Though danger lies behind and up ahead,  
For just today, I journey without dread.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to KaTaai for this awesome recording, and for making me notice that I'd used "prow" twice. ^w^  
> https://vocaroo.com/i/s01kfk1U7ek8


	85. Sonnet for Flight--Adventure II, Page 149

The seagulls wheel like vultures, crying shrill--  
Their voices harsh and hungry on the air.  
Inedible, the rusted corpses spill  
To crash into the water, settle there.

The remnants of a panic long-forgot,  
Its echoes linger on the flying breeze--  
The fleeing from the still-encroaching rot  
To meet a greater horror in the trees.

The trailers lie abandoned, and the cars,  
All bound in ropes, are lowered in the lake--  
At night beneath the unforgiving stars  
Grim creatures move beneath, grim creatures wake.

We stare into the past and watch the flight;  
The seagulls turn, uncaring, through our sight.


	86. Sonnet for Soul Consumption--Adventure II, Page 150

You proudly walk the world without concern  
Assured that no infection passes through  
And breaks your skin to coil deep and churn  
Within the blood and bone inside of you.

The rot and rash are outward things, unfelt--  
Disease and death that cannot reach for you;  
But watch your heart decay; your mind will melt--  
Beneath my ruby gaze your soul will stew.

For I can reach beyond your flesh, your skin  
These petty layers holding heart to home--  
The wayward soul is tethered deep within  
A prison made of whitened, curving bone.

Allow me, darling--let me take a look  
And set your spirit slipping off the hook.


	87. Sonnet for Many--Adventure II, Page 151

First one, then two--another--many more--  
As dying leaves come swirling off their trees  
They flock in droves to death's unkindly door  
And no one stops at all to hear their pleas.

Bloodred and sickly yellow, pitiful  
Their minds are forfeit, twisted and destroyed  
To fit another's mold, and make it full  
With evil things to swarm its empty void.

What was alive is hollow, filled with ash  
And air and sad forgotten whisperings  
While in another shell, their lifebloods crash--  
They mix til they become quite different things.

So lovers, friends, and children walked that way,  
But tall and thin, the kade walks away.


	88. Sonnet for the Hair that Launched a Thousand Birds--Adventure II, Page 152

The Hair that launched a thousand birds was bright--  
Its gold unmatched by treasury or trove;  
In darkness, still, a quality of light  
Would linger on the locks--and so they dove.

The flocks came circling from miles round,  
Their screaming echoed, longing, o'er the sea,  
And flying ever nearer, so their sound  
Was magnified and carried warningly.

A thousand fearsome warriors were there,  
Their plumage white and silver 'gainst the skies--  
And down they swooped! they tore the sleepy air  
To gather for a gala round their prize.

All men agreed who looked upon the sight--  
The Hair that launched a thousand birds was bright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaand thank you Ceceoh, I wouldn't have a sonnet without your comment.


	89. Sonnet for Corpses (The Seagulls' Song)--Adventure II, Page 153

The world is cruel and fickle--that we know--  
When sitting in our nests on fringe of night,  
Our mothers tell us tales of long ago  
When humans guarded food with fearsome might.

The world is cruel and fickle--we are sure--  
For we are here to watch the humans fall,  
And even our old anger we abjure  
To watch them twist, to hear their dying call.

The world is cruel and fickle--it's a fact--  
For even through our pity, we are drawn  
To visit at their corpses, once-intact  
And sate* our hunger on their mortal brawn.

As they have died, we've soared the skies about;  
The world is cruel and fickle--there's no doubt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *thank you, Roísín!


	90. Sonnet for Health--Adventure II, Page 154

O sweet longevity, O healthy shape!  
With muscles in a paragon of strength.  
If you’re a man, be active like an ape  
To gain that form, that glow, and life’s long length.

But how, you ask? It’s simple, move around!  
Your legs were made for walking and to move;  
Your feet were made to stride upon the ground;  
Your arms were made to lift, your strength to prove.

So go and climb the staircase to the top!  
Make sure your legs are moving without haste.  
Don’t pause a moment—strong ones never stop  
Before the thrill of victory they taste.

And me? I’ll ride the elevator swift;  
No sense to climb when I could get a lift.


	91. Sonnet for Very, Very Far--Adventure II, Page 155

I see across the water very far--  
I see all things that happen on the waves.  
The things that swim, and also those that scar  
And leave their victims sinking to their graves.

I watch the waters carry pestilence,  
And for myself, I stay within the air;  
Would I could help, but out of self-defense  
I keep my vigil and my counsel there.

For I have seen the things this virus does--  
The skin that breaks, the bones that grow and twist,  
The eyes that empty everything there was  
From out their hearts and minds, dissolved like mist.

I see all things that were, and all that are.  
I see the sea so very, very far.


	92. Sonnet for Lives to Get Back To--Adventure II, Page 156

Across the sea and miles more of land  
My home is waiting, waiting still for me.  
And though I love my ragtag, dauntless band  
I weary and I long to leave the sea.

I weary of the worry and the wait,  
The constant clinging charged uncertainty--  
Is he or she alive? Or met some fate  
Too dark, to dark to name--we only flee.

We fled our lives, we called them dull, but now,  
When one is lost, perhaps another, too,  
We flee the place we fled to, turning round  
To face the comforts of the place we knew.

So tell me that you have him without strife  
So I can turn and get back to my life.


	93. Sonnet for Building--Adventure II, Page 157

There is an art to building from the dead,  
To stacking up their skeletons and skin,  
Reminders of forgotten lives they led--  
Now ashen like the ruined hearts within.

Their desecrated pasts, their tortured fates,  
Their futures all erased by sweeping night--  
You stack and stagger them like packing-crates  
Don't let them fall--yet don't close off the light.

To add and to amend the failing sores,  
The wounds and gashes etched in them by age,  
Is quite alright, for you must block your doors  
Lest that which was their end bear you its rage.

But do not let them break apart and fall;  
What they remind us of will find us all.


	94. Sonnet for a Thousand Wings--Adventure II, Page 158

When thunderstorms blow pompous trumpets by  
Declaring mighty strength for all to see,  
I laugh and sip my tea and let them fly  
For they have not seen half as much as me.

When waves come splashing, crashing at my feet  
And charge the world to listen to their roar,  
I smile, drain a cup, and turn to eat  
For I've seen everything they've seen, and more.

When trolls and giants howl in the night  
Bemoaning their disastrous destiny,  
I sigh and pour a cup by candlelight  
For I have watched the frolics of the free.

Imagine this: a thousand beating wings--  
The sky is set alight, the water sings.


	95. Sonnet for Those Who Go In--Adventure II, Page 159

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> KaTaai recorded this one! https://vocaroo.com/i/s0NsocH3tbgC  
> Please listen to it, it's amazing ;v;

I keep a record, lengthy list of names  
Of every sorry soul who wanders in--  
Within these woods, toward their hopeless aims  
Without defense to drown the demon-din.

I list the persons in, and none come out  
Though if they did, they'd fit another sheet--  
I sit above the waves to drown the shout  
Of weary wanderers who face defeat.

I list the _things_ that exit, blood and bone  
And teeth and _teeth_ and teeth and empty eyes;  
The only remnants of the faces shown  
So brief, before my door, before they die.

I list them lest forget them in their life,  
Their human hearts bound only on to strife.


	96. Sonnet for Eyes--Adventure II, Page 160

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heh, back on page 140 I wrote a sonnet called "Sonnet for MY Eyes." one of these days, im gonna repeat a title and not realize it.

His eyes so small and round and rimmed with black,  
Who knows the things the sentinel has seen?  
Perhaps they let him pierce past wreck and wrack,  
Or shed the shimmer of the ocean's sheen.

The seagulls, all his watchers, share his gaze--  
So traumatized, or tired, or unwound--  
Perhaps that's it, half-lunatic, half-crazed  
(But not so wild as the things they've found).

And has he ever shut them? For a day?  
A moment or an hour or a year?  
You'd think he still could fend the beasts away  
By keeping out a single open ear.

But still he watches you, as is his right,  
With eyes as bright as stars, hemmed in by night.


	97. Sonnet for a Feeling--Adventure II, Page 161

And sometimes you can feel it wafting past--  
A feeling deep, that cannot be explained--  
A feeling dark, perhaps your very last--  
A feeling undesired, uncontained.

And sometimes you can hear it in the wood--  
A sound of leaves and branches shivering--  
A sound like falling down from where you stood--  
A sound that sets your heartbeat quivering.

And sometimes you can see its glowing eye--  
A sight like blood and fire through the rain--  
A sight that says, "remember, you must die"--  
A sight that's like a song, a dread refrain.

And sometimes you can feel it wafting past--  
And every time you whisper-- _travel fast._


	98. Sonnet for Nonchalance--Adventure II, Page 162

He tells it coldly, undiluted fact,  
No touch of sympathy, no sorrowed glance.  
If you get sick, you're never coming back--  
No quarantine, no cure, no second chance.

He's almost nonchalant, officious, too;  
As though he prides his sordid, bloody task,  
To look into such faces--precious few  
Of those who enter keep their mortal mask.

He waves you on the way of which he warns--

A path choked tight with horrors and decay--  
And second thoughts grow teeth and twisting horns  
And guard the road that winds to close of day.

How many died before he chose this face,  
As though he feels no pain as names erase?


	99. Sonnet for Shock--Adventure II, Page 163

And -- blood. And corpses lined all carefully--  
In rows, identified but dripping still  
The gore of all the things they used to be--  
Unwound, unwrought, a gruesome, awful kill

And so like how they lined the sanguine forms  
Of friends and soldiers wracked by rash-disease--  
The memories form gatherings and swarms  
And spitting bile, coil, strike, and seize.

And try to push them back, but still they press,  
The images persistent as the sun  
That sinks into the sea, a crimson mess  
When all the day's disasters have been done.

Her eyes--so wide--the purple spirals deep--  
And spirals--and the memory won't sleep.


	100. Sonnet for an Unstained Owl--Adventure II, Page 164

The figure on the shelf is still unstained,  
Its feathers, wood and wax, are plain and clean,  
The item doomed to be his last remains—  
What is, what will, and all he’s ever been.

The wax will melt and bleed its crimson rust  
In streaks that line the shelf beside the rest,  
That pool below and stir the sighing dust,  
Committing to forget his last request.

Like Icarus, ensanguining his plumes  
By thinking he could bear the fire’s glare—  
He walks into the gathering of glooms  
To meet the Kade’s eyes while we despair.

We fall upon our own hand-crafted blade,  
And die asleep within the bed we made.


End file.
